The Dark Place
by I am the Sky
Summary: Nick is a young boy, and travels the waterways with his gyptian family, but when an argument with his brothers causes him to wander away alone its more than locals he has to worry about... A story from The Sky
1. Early Days

Nick was older than most of the other gyptain children he knew. His younger brothers, Charlie and Ash, were twins. However, they each had their own distinctive appearances, and were easy to tell apart. A few of the less gullible, or shallow-minded locals who hung around the places they moored refused to believe that they were twins, even brothers. Further more, there was the odd occasion when a child would simply refuse to believe that there was such a thing as twins, and Nick would have to hold him down while his brothers proved it to him with rocks. Being a couple of years older than they were, his strength was greatly valued. Especially when they were moored at Port Meadow, near the colleges.

These were dangerous grounds, as the tension between the servant children of these colleges and the townsfolk was wild enough without a big mouthed gyptian child sticking his nose where it wasn't welcome, and Charlie had a habit of mouthing off. Gyptians valued their children above all else, and so their mother, usually very flexible when it came to rules, demanded that they always stay together whilst here. She had developed a motto for their little group, safety in numbers. This wasn't a problem, as they spent most of their time around the gyptian dominated areas. Here they could always claim the moral high-ground if attacked. Not that that meant much to the children, but they got in less trouble when they returned to the boat. Somehow their exploits, however innocent, found their way back home before they did.

But, naturally, they weren't always innocent minded, and often wandered around the Claybeds looking for a fight, be it collegers, townies, or the brick-burner children themselves. Nick could recall one particularly epic battle, when a small group of his gyptian friends stumbled across a fight well in progress down in the Claybeds. Some collegers had assaulted the Claybeds from further inland, and with the brick-burner children stuck between them and Nick's small armada they were scattered and defeated, but not before they had unleashed a barrage of mud and clay, making it impossible to distinguish between sides. A girl from one of the colleges had the idea to have all their dæmons take the same form, thus turning the battle in their favour, as the gyptians continued to attack each other accidentally. Nick's brother, Ash, instructed their side to follow suit, and before long it was just a mass of wildcats, vicious hounds and screeching children grappling in the mud. Having successfully attached three of the collegers to a fence by the seat of their pants, the gyptians decided to call it quits, and return home somewhat victorious. They had planned to go on a hunt the next day to finish off the collegers, but Nick's parents had other ideas, and they spent the day confined to the boat, scrubbing the deck and performing other mind-numbing tasks.


	2. Family Feud

A year or two had passed since the brawl in the mud of the Claybeds, and Nick had found himself in trouble again. It wasn't because of brawling, stealing or slacking off in his gyptian duties as it usually was. He had had a row with his brothers, and wandered off alone. Charlie and Ash had returned before him, and he had found them sitting passively in the cabin with an identical look of smug superiority on their faces. His mother was standing by the stove with her back to him, preparing the evening meal. Her dæmon, a hawk, sat on her shoulder, eyes on the door. He squawked once as Nick entered, and promptly took flight as his companion pivoted on the spot, cooking pot still in hand and spilling boiling water over everything. She took no notice.

"I had ONE rule, just one! Stay together, don't wander 'round on ye own! And what do ye do? You leave your little brothers, your BROTHERS, alone out there. Do you have any idea what could have happened? God, storming off like that! You'd think ye have some respect!"

Nick stood defiantly in the doorway, enduring his mother's hysterical rant unflinchingly. His dæmon became a cobra and stood on his shoulder, tail around his neck for balance. She occasionally bared her fangs and hissed at the unintimidated hawk.

"I don' see what's the big deal, I just went round to see some folk moored at Jericho. Tha's all."

His mother, still raging, turned back to the stove, muttering profanities about the lack of water in her pot. One word sounded louder than the rest: "Grounded!"

Nick tactfully decided to remain quiet, but he was enraged. At the sound of a snicker from Charlie, the closer of the twins, Nick's dæmon lashed out, leaping from his shoulder and becoming a large snow-white owl before clasping Charlie's mouse-dæmon in her talons and perching on the frame above the door.

"Hey, let her go, you mongrel!" Charlie shouted at the owl.

"I don't know, Charlie, we haven't eaten since lunch. What do you think, Kirra? You hungry?"

She flexed her talons and rotated her head to look at Charlie, who was standing helplessly by his bunk.

"I _am _rather hungry, Charlie, and she is so soft… and tender."

The little mouse gave an involuntary squeal, and her wide eyes began to flick around the cabin, seeking an avenue of escape. Kirra's beak was inching closer when there came a crash from the stove. All heads spun to see their mother, having slammed her fist down on the side-table, round on Nick.

"How DARE you! Threaten your own brother like that! With all they have to worry about, those damn local kids, and them Gobblers I heard about, without you causin' extra trouble! Get out! OUT! No dinner for you tonight, and ye won't be leaving this boat until next time we moor! Got it? Go on, get up on deck. Wait there till your father gets home. I don't know what to do with ye."

Kirra became a monkey and released the mouse, who quickly scampered back to Charlie where she was welcomed and comforted. Kirra bounced up onto Nick's shoulder as he stormed out of the cabin and followed the stairs for the deck. The sun had only just finished setting as he emerged onto the deck of the boat. He moved up onto the bow where he sat, legs hanging over the edge. Kirra became a slender red fox, her preferred form, and sat up on a crate next to Nick, where she wrapped her thick, soft tail around his neck like a scarf.

"She seemed a bit more worked up than usual," Kirra muttered. "Wonder what's got her so worried."

"It's nothing, she just ticked 'cause I ditched Chubbers and Mash."

Kirra laughed. "You're not game to call them that to their faces, though."

"'Course not, they'd maul me. You seen 'em fight. Plus, mum'd kill me first."

"What did she say in there? The Gobblers or whatever? Have you heard of them?" Kirra shifted uneasily. It was alright when she knew what she was supposed to be afraid of, but the unknown worried her.

"Nah, probably just some townie spreadin' lies. Nothing to worry about." She became more at ease after this, and settled again.

"I wonder what Joem would taste like. I was tempted to take a bite."

Nick laughed out loud, the only sound in the dark night except for a dull footstep on the rotting wood of the wharf.


End file.
